Comrades;
...we all are in fighting against a Cold winter, fascistic citizens and
tyrannies
all over the world. we must stop the war against OUR communities.
by the way,
last month, an "Association of Poor people in Nagai park"(Nakama-No-Kai)
sent a following protest-letter to a company of "Catalog House".
when the company of "Catalog House" will refuse our proposals, we will
demand you to send protest-letters. following is an e-mail address of
the "Catalog House". info@cataloghouse.co.jp
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*A Letter of Protest
An article of "School for Mrs. Part 1; Thinking 'Supporting Independence of
Homelessness Act'" in "Tsuuhan Seikatu" (Spring, 2003) contains very
discriminative contents and expressions, so that we should point out and
appeal that it commits human rights abuse, and demand you to insert apology
or correction notice on your magazine.
*Summary of Protest
<The article is based on prejudices and biases>
You, the editorial office of Tsuhan Seikatsu, consider the homeless issue as
"an issue that homeless people who cannot take care of him/herself are
disturbing local citizen's life" and see them as one-sided objects to
"redemption" or "measure," not as structural subject of human rights and
society. However homeless issue is homeless people's "human right issue
relevant to human dignity," as the "Resolution for securing human dignity of
homeless people" in the "Human Rights Meeting" by Kinki area Attorney
Association, held in November 29, 2002. We should point out that opinions by
Mr. Chikamatsu and Mr. Morita quoted in the article in question are based on
prejudices and biases. For example:
"It is wrong to be recognized by the city government that collecting empty
cans is a business. Local residents are being annoyed with foraging their
garbage bags." (Mr. Chikamatsu)
"It is ridiculous that (homeless people) 'have incentive to work" without
verifying them to have incentive to work everyday and have sense of
responsibility toward work." (Mr. Chikamatsu)
"(Their) real feeling is 'Leave me alone'" (Mr. Morita)
"Many of them get what they deserve." (Mr. Morita)
"It is not easy to transform from katydid to ant." (Mr. Morita)
These above arguments come from close-minded thought which cannot imagine
the hardship to cast off from homeless life. If each of editorial staff step
in the life of homeless people, and touched their life of working for
collecting empty bottles and sitting in a bench at a park all the day, we
think you will be aware of wrongness of Mr. Chikamatsu and Mr. Morita. There
is relevance between being widespread these arguments, and put homeless
people's human rights and their life at risk on daily basis, such as
incidents of young people attacking homeless people to die and killing
themselves in despair over their lives. Inserting these opinions
uncritically as "reality" is completely false that it would enhance
prejudices the readers would have to homeless, thus bring about violation of
their human rights.
<It is false that the responsibility of joblessness and homelessness lies
with homeless people themselves>
The article mentions the reason why homeless people have been increasing is
unemployment. While it says nothing about why the situation of unemployment
bring about, however, joblessness and homelessness are understood as
responsibilities of individuals in question, which is also wrong. The
responsibilities of joblessness-homelessness lie in governments and
administrations which has neglected development of useful measure against
unemployment and social security during prolonged economic stagnation. While
the government still exclaims "Structural Change" which is going to be an
policy of discarding social security and promoting insecurity of employment,
the number of being unemployed is highly likely to increase. If it is said
that the only reason of being unemployed or being dependent is individual
abilities, there will be a separation between homeless people who "should be
helped" and who "should not be helped." This will fix discrimination. A
homeless person who will get rid of the "measure" and be divested of his/her
own rights can only die on the street. The resolution above mentioned says
"it stands to reason that it should not get rid of those who cannot be
independent economically on the ground of his/her 'will to be independent.'
It is invalid that the legislation (Supporting Independence of Homelessness
Act) construes the 'independence' as economic independence in the general
labor market only. 'Independence' should be construed as an equivocal
concept which includes spiritual, personality, and social independences to
live their own human lives in their own local communities by expressing
their own decision making." Therefore it also says, "thus, supporting plan
should apply to all homeless people, including those who have no ability to
work," and "it no longer permissible to get someone rid of support by
labeling as 'one who is impossible to be independent.'
<Insufficient coverage to homeless people themselves and their supporters>
While "Supporting Independence of Homelessness Act" is appraisable on the
ground that it writes clearly "the responsibility of the State," its "basic
policy" and "implementation plan" will be designed from now and its details
are not clear. At the moment, homeless people and their supporters are
discussing our demands to the Government and each municipality. Homeless
people have brought up many ideas, in terms of stable housing, stable
employment, security of employment opportunities, and so on. There also have
brought up the issue of limitations of the framework of "Supporting
Independence of Homelessness Act" as such. It is a serious problem that
there is only insufficient coverage to homeless people and their supporters
when arguing that regulation.
We can point out "The Homeless Measure" by Osaka city "has failed to yield
good results": (1) That the "Measure" has no enough results for employment
of homeless people is the responsibility of administration which does not
prepare enough employment opportunities such as official employments; (2)
The purpose of the "Measure" is essentially for appropriation of facility
management, not for the rights and life of homeless people, not to mention
"vocational independence," therefore, imposing "independence" to homeless
people unilaterally and forcing them to move out in effect; (3) During the
meeting of homeless people and their supporters, while we discuss the
"purpose of the Measure" and "What is independence?," the article argues
what is the problem, what kind of measure has planed, and what kind of
effect the measure supposed to have, from the perspectives based on Mr.
Chikamatsu and Mr. Morita's biased view only, without any perspectives of
homeless people and their supporters; etc.
Among others, it is serious in the article that there is no coverage on
homeless people who did not chose to move into temporary shelter or
independent support center and who moved back to homeless life after coming
out from the shelter or center. To support rights and life of homeless
people, it is indispensable that problems of $B!H(Bmeasure project$B!I(B are asked
back from the point of homeless people's view.
<The article does not refer to illegal operation of Daily Life Security Law>
The article does not mention that there is a large problem in current
operation of Daily Life Security Law. The fact is that when a homeless
person, who has no home and does not even have enough daily food, visits to
municipal welfare office, he/she is always turned away from the office by
saying "you are still young" or "you can work." After he/she
institutionalizes in a temporary shelter for a while, even though the person
still needs protection, most of the time, there is no continuous support
from the office and the person goes back to live on a street. Then many of
them have been sick and even died on a street, because of continuing bad
conditions of their lives on the street. The administration, which has
neglected the appropriate operation of Daily Life Security Law, has killed
countless homeless people and its responsibility is serious. Also, the
article says that if social security is given to many people one after
another, it will make financial burden to the office. But Osaka city has
been passed undetected some welfare facilities and public health facilities
have produced huge financial outlay. The resolution by Kinki area Attorney
Association points out "The rampancy of these wrong operations of (Daily
Life Security Law) is one of the big causes of increasing number of homeless
people."
<In Summary>
As in the article, homeless people are not seen as main body of human
rights, but the object of "Measure" and "Redemption." Homeless issue is the
issue of the "Measure" papering over prejudices and biases. It is the issue
of violating their human rights and threatening their lives and beings on
the daily basis. Especially, it is the issue that they are seen as "being
dependent," forced to be "independent" by the "Measure," and will deny their
existence, if they do not accept the "Measure." "Vocational independence,"
"home bound independence," or "economical independence" is at best just one
of "many forms of independence." The solution of homelessness is, clearly
speaking, the condition that every one of homeless people does not threaten
his/her own rights and life. There is no other definition of the solution.
Employment or social security is just one of many means to achieve this
solution, as well as collecting empty cans and living in a tent.
Of course, that is very difficult to achieve. During the process of
achievement, we need to face various tasks. What is independence, work,
welfare, social solidarity, life, family, property, freedom, security, human
dignity, education, community, economy, development, and so on? In other
words, the homeless issue contains a variety of tasks which civil society
should ask back, and it is the social task to draw what we should learn from
the issue. What is important is that we see how homeless people are in their
daily lives, because it is neither $B!H(Btoken acknowledgement$B!I(B nor "decorous
institution."
Many homeless people, being exposed to prejudices by local community, live
actually in that local community. The government advances
institutionalization into segregated facilities (such as temporary shelters
and hospitals) in the name of "Support for Independence" and under the name
of "appropriation of public facility management," by making an issue only of
the existence of tents and cabins, tries to get rid of them. This is just a
temporary camouflage of the real issue, not the solution. We think it is
important that not turning away or disguising the real issue, but the
community should accept homelessness and its real existence and seek how the
homeless people should live in that community. We think the real problem is
the civil feeling that cannot come face to face with the reality of
discrimination. It is the community that should change, should acquire the
spiritual independence. The article brings it to naught that the efforts
homeless people and their supporters try to promote understanding of local
community.
We think the article on your magazine is to foster biases and discrimination
toward homeless people. As having wide readers, your magazine has huge
social responsibility. We demand you should examine above consideration and
put an article of apology or another story with additional coverage that
correct the article. Also before you put it on your magazine, we ask you to
show us the details of the story beforehand.
We demand you, the Catalog House editorial staff, to examine this letter and
give us a reply before February 17th, 2003.
(Association of Poor people in Nagai park)
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we'll be singing
when we're winning
we'll be singing
i get knocked down
but i get up again
u're never going to keep me down(ChumbaWamba)
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instead of THEIR violence,
WE must try to get OUR MUTUAL AID SOCIETIES
all over the world.(@Libertaire-JILL)
rebel_jill@geocities.co.jppostmaster@nivenkos.freeservers.com